Centuries-old diary of Polish countess discovered

From ampoleagle.com

The Diary of Countess Anna Maria Berezowska,
A True Story Edited by John A. Stelnicki and Iris Hart
Book Review

Some 20 years ago Push Not the River, a historical romance novel by James Conroyd Martin, was published. Conroyd Martin’s work was based on the unpublished diary of Polish Countess Anna Maria Berezowska. His book was very successful, and he followed it up with two more Polish historical novels,  Against A Crimson Sky (2006) and The Warsaw Conspiracy (2012) as part of a Polish triology.

The diary that inspired Push Not the River, translated into English, has now been published, some two centuries after it was written. If you like sweeping romantic epics like Dr. Zhivago and Gone With the Wind, you’ll likely enjoy the Diary of Countess Anna Maria Berezowska.

In his preface, John Stelnicki explained that the diary was passed down over the years by his ancestors, and he had studied and discussed it with family. At times he let close friends and aspiring writers read it, and he had the diary copyrighted in 1960. He eventually signed a contract with writer James Conroyd Martin to novelize the diary. Push Not the River turned out to be very popular, and was even published in Poland as Nie Ponaglaj Rzeki. 
Stelnicki eventually decided it was time to publish Anna’s diary without novelization, “as she wrote it and as she intended it.”

The events in the diary take place in Poland in late 18th century, during the tumultuous time leading up to the 1792 Partition of Poland. Berezowska was a naive young woman born into nobility and living with her parents in Sochaczew, a town east of Warsaw. When her parents died unexpectedly she was taken to live with an aunt, uncle, and two troublesome cousins in Halicz. The 17-year-old Anna then began keeping a diary in which she describes the difficult personal events that she had to deal with, including an arranged marriage, rape, and brutality.

While her personal life is in a state of upheaval, so is that of her beloved Poland. This is the time of the rise and fall of the May 3rd Constitution, the first democratic constitution in Europe. A series of reforms that culminated with the signing of the Constitution of May 3, 1791 by King Stanisław August Poniatowski  reduced the power of the nobility and gave human rights to peasants. It led Russia and Prussia to attack, resulting in the second partition of Poland.

 

The diary is unique in that Anna provides a view of life in 18th century Europe  not only from the perspective of a woman, but from a member of the nobility as well. As such it does not deal much with the actual events that occurred as Push Not the River did. Instead, it is a touching personal account of the personal life of the Countess as it is impacted by the turbulent times. 

We read from Anna’s perspective just how hard life could be for a woman of that time, even a woman of noble birth. Her life was made all the more difficult by the violent period during which she lived. 

At times the diary is so compelling and descriptive that it’s hard to believe that it was the work of a teenaged Polish countess living in the 18th century.  We are indeed fortunate that, more than 200 years after it was written, this diary is available for all of us to read.
To obtain a copy go to Amazon or https://www.countessanna-diary.com.

https://ampoleagle.com/centuriesold-diary-of-polish-countess-discovered-p15075-222.htm